For Manric, fighting Tau was challenging, but no moreso than fighting Astartes.

In fact, the Tau Battle Suits almost made Manric nostalgic, because they made him think of Knight Armor. Oh, they were quite different, smaller and very tightly built. Manric admired the workmanship that had gone into them and knew this was what Hope was trying to capture, in their own way. As technology progressed to Terran standard, Hope would become more and more capable of micronization. Battle Suits like this were not far off, but they probably wouldn't bother to make them, concentrating on shells and the recall technology of the Necrons.

Manric had isolated the person on the other side who appeared to be his counterpart. He was wearing a bigger suit of armor, and was accounting for far more Necron casualties than anyone else. Also, Manric had noticed him sometimes falling back, presumably to issue orders. Yes, that was a commander.

(Manric himself was quite obviously a commander as well and the Tau had considered launching a specific assault on him, but judged it would fail)

If he had been an Astartes commander, a rival Necron Overlord or an Ork Warboss, Manric might have challenged him to single combat. But from what little he knew of them, Manric didn't think Tau were normally inclined to take such offers. So instead…

Ahmakeph, Itolyx, I'm going to do something insane. Zahndrekh gave them the freedom to act independently, even while he directed the greater battle. Manric didn't need his permission for this but he wanted his friends to know he might be going for recall soon. Wish me luck.

Good luck. Manric laughed internally. Itolyx could be so literal at times.

Try not to get blown into a thousand pieces. That could certainly happen. Manric waited a bit, for just the right moment, then tore a hole in reality and stepped through.

The Tau commander was not expecting an enemy to materialize directly behind him and a spear raked over his back. That was not a minor matter… Manric's spear could penetrate Imotekh's necrodermis, which was easily the strongest armor the Necrons had. It could rip through regular Space Marine armor, and do very serious damage to Terminators. Orks also did not fare well against it. And Manric could deliberately enhance the strength of it, causing the power of the spear to flare to higher levels. It was a super weapon from the War in Heaven, meant to kill gods.

So it was not surprising that the spear cut deep, damaging the suit severely and cutting lightly through flesh. If the suit had not been as big, the commander could have died in that moment. As it was he whirled, light on his feet and with extreme presence of mind, attacked his enemy with a power weapon. If he used any kind of ranged weapon at this angle, he would surely hit his own men.

Alas, seeing an enemy literally teleport into their ranks panicked the younger Fire Caste and they did not have their commanders' common sense. Manric sensed movement behind him and leapt into the air, an incredible jump that recalled the aeldari. His neat twist in midair was also taken from them and he deflected a few pulsar blasts with his spear, but also saw the luckless commander get hit by friendly fire. Laughing aloud, Manric ripped a hole in reality beneath himself and let gravity take him through. More pulsar fire slashed through the air where he'd been, but hit nothing as Manric landed back on his command post.

(the commander wasn't dead, but he was badly injured and if he survived, he was going to set several of his men to the Tau equivalent of peeling potatoes)

(they had done more damage to him than Manric)

I managed to see that. That was evil and hilarious. Ahmakeph sent glyphs of humor and appreciation. Manric chuckled to himself as his pwi-Necrons redoubled their efforts, sensing victory was within their grasp.

Well done. Shall we press the attack?

No, no. Zahndrekh's voice came through. Manric, press our attack but Itolyx, hold back. They are trying to bait you. That was a tactic the Tau seemed to like, creating false holes to lure in attackers. Unfortunately for them, Zahndrekh had a fine sense for what was real and what wasn't. And right now, the weakness in front of Manric was very real. Manric leapt down from his command post to join the front line, leading the push against the Tau.

It was too early in the conflict to say that things were going well, but they certainly weren't going badly.

Why is this happening?

Ko'Shoka of the Fire Caste hunkered down grimly. He had no idea why their planet had suddenly come under assault from the hostile alien robots called Necrons, but he was determined to defend the Tau empire and the Greater Good.

The confusion of battle, though, had separated him and his team from their cadre. It didn't help that something very strange was happening. A deep fog had sprung up, like nothing he had ever seen before on Ya'Noa. Was it his imagination or were things sometimes moving in it?

"Enemies!" One of his men said sharply and they all prepared for combat. But then, to their bafflement, a solid team of Necrons, easily twice their number, simply ignored them and pelted on by? Ko-Shoka would have shot them in the back but there was a Kroot following them?

"What are they running from – SHA-El-EMIDA!" Oh god what was wrong? Ko'Shoka looked and saw a horror from his worst nightmares.

It was like a river of lava, but colored a scintillating blue. It blazed in the mist and seemed to be full of screaming mouths and eyes. It did not burn what it touched, it changed it and in ways that made Ko'Shoka's brain hurt. The absolute last thing he wanted was for that to touch him.

"I think we should run," he said with surprising calm. The rest of the team had started sprinting after the Necrons and Kroot before he'd even finished speaking and Ko'Shoka followed after them, bringing up the rear. He did not look back to see if the blue lava was gaining on him. It wouldn't help and hopefully the Necrons and Kroot knew where they were going.

"The ravine! They are going for the ravine!" One of his other men yelled and Ko'Shoka remembered. There WAS a ravine here, a narrow canyon, and in some spots it was possible to jump if you were very athletic. The Necrons and Kroot should have no problems but Ko'Shoka deeply feared for himself and his men. The Fire Caste were the strongest of the Tau, but physical power was not the strong point of their race in general.

Ko-Shoka saw the Necrons ahead of them jumping with surprising grace, for eight foot tall machines. They cleared the ravine easily. The Kroot took a bounding leap and also made it. Then his men made their attempts. They just barely made it and several of them were grabbed by the Kroot or even the Necrons, to stop them from falling into the ravine. Then Ko-Shoka reached the edge of the ravine.

He knew he'd blown it the instant he made his jump. His foot twisted on a rock, just a bit, just as he was making the jump and Ko-Shoka saw he was going to come well short. Despite knowing that death was coming, he tried desperately to reach out. Then, to his shock, the Kroot lunged towards him and caught his hands. But that only meant they were both going to plunge to their deaths! They both fell –

And were caught. Ko-Shoka looked up and saw two Necrons had the Kroot's legs in their grip, holding both their weights. It was good the Necrons were both heavy and strong… the two machines pulled the Kroot up, back out of the ravine and Ko-Shoka could only feel grateful to all of them as he was grabbed and dragged onto firm ground. Behind him, the blue lava spilled into the ravine and he turned to watch it flowing down the chasm, mouths opening and closing in silent screams.

Then he turned back and glanced around before realizing he and his team were in a bit of a situation.

"Drop your weapons, surrender, and we will let you live," the Necron who appeared to be the leader said. Ko-Shoka had a hard time telling, but this one was wearing a necklace of plaques that he thought denoted rank. Aside from that, he was identical to the others. Their chest cartouches all had an identical insignia, a snarling beast.

"…" Ko-Shoka glanced back at the ravine and then looked at the Kroot. The Kroot was grumbling quietly, but already removing his weapons. That, along with the general situation, decided him… they were outnumbered and it would be incredibly easy for the Necrons to simply push them into the ravine. And the Kroot were noted for their fierce savagery… if one of them thought there was no point in resisting, there was truly no point. "Disarm," he said before handing his pulse rifle to one of the Necrons. It accepted the weapon and somehow clipped it to its hip. Ko-Shoka had no idea how it accomplished that, but it was handy for them to keep their hands free. "What will you do with us?" He almost dreaded the answer. They had learned from hard experience that being taken captive was not always a good thing.

"We will ransom you back in future peace talks." Oh. That was all… what peace talks? "We intend to have this world, it was and always has been ours – what?" He said to one of his team members, who was peering at the ravine.

"Where did that come from?" He asked in a way that made Ko-Shoka thought he already knew the answer, and was just prompting his leader to think about it. Also, this one seemed different from the others although Ko-Shoka couldn't say why.

(he was the field engineer of the unit)

The leader seemed to think about it for a moment, before uttering what Ko-Shoka thought was a Necron curse. Then he growled the answer.

"It came from the Tomb." Wait, there was a Necron Tomb here? That was why they had been attacked? "That accursed fog came when we breached it. There must be Chaos here." Yes… that did seem obvious now… so Chaos had somehow infested the Necron Tomb beneath their feet. "WHAT?" He snapped at the thoughtful one, who was waving a touch for attention.

"What happens if this gets into the water table?" ….

"Sha-ei-emida," Ko-Shoka muttered as he contemplated that horrible question. The Necron leader seemed to feel much the same.

"Why do you think of such things?!" He said and the thoughtful one shrugged.

"Someone has to. You need to report this, and they should report it as well, if they can. We need to contain this as soon as possible." Yes, that was… was imperative. Ko-Shoka looked to the Necron for permission and got a nod before trying his communications.

"Can anyone hear me?" Nothing, but Ko-Shoka forged on. "If you can hear me, there is a situation near Rh-hyo ravine…" He quickly described what was happening, noting as he did that the tide of blue fire had ceased. Apparently, there was only so much of it, that was good at least. The Necrons were also passing along their own communications, he presumed. The leader went very still for a moment, seeming far away and Ko-Shoka assumed they did not need to speak to communicate.

"I am not getting a response. I do not think I am getting through," the Necron leader said after a moment and Ko-Shoka sighed internally. He didn't think he had gotten through either. "We will go… formation…" His team and the Kroot were placed at the centre of a travelling formation. They were disarmed and prisoners, so it was sensible enough.

The fog though, got worse as they headed towards the point the leader thought he would find his people. And the Kroot was looking into the fog intently.

"What is wrong?" Ko-Shoka asked in a low tone and the Kroot glanced at him.

"We are being paced." What… wait, something was following them? He glanced at the Necrons. Shouldn't they be told? "They already know. They are good hunters." From a Kroot, that was a high compliment. And now that he'd said that, Ko-Shoka could see the Necrons were on high alert, scanning the fog as they moved with care and precision.

They proceeded perhaps another tor-kan before the Kroot made a rough snorting sound.

"We are surrounded," he said just as the Necron leader raised a hand. The Necrons moved and Ko-Shoka saw they had formed a defensive circle, with the prisoners at the centre. But what was out there? What was going to attack them? It could not be other Tau or Kroot, this was nothing like how they would behave!

Then Ko-Shoka found out, and the knowledge horrified him.

What came out of the mist were Necrons, but like none he had imagined in his worst nightmares. They were hunched over, moving like animals and there were strange coverings on their bodies, flapping and Ko-Shoka swallowed hard as he saw those coverings were a familiar blue shade. Their fingers were long claws and they chittered and nipped at each other, for all the world like animals. Even sheltered behind the cold strength of the Necron team, Ko-Shoka could feel their eyes on him, feel the unwholesome desire, the bloodlust that radiated from them. What were they?

"They are acting like brain damaged beasts. This is madness, sickness," the Kroot grunted and Ko-Shoka realized he'd spoken aloud. "They remind me of…" he stopped talking and Ko-Shoka decided not to pry. He was far too involved in what was happening in front of them anyway.

(the Kroot was thinking that the Flayers reminded him of some Kroot who foolishly ate Tyranids)

(that tended not to go well)

One of the Flayers was taller than the others, more put together. To Ko-Shoka, he looked like some kind of leader. He could not know, but this was a former Overlord who still had some shreds of his mind. Due to his status and higher functioning, he'd become the unofficial pack leader of this group of Flayers. And unlike most of them, he could still speak.

The grating sound of the Necron speaking hurt his ears and the Kroot snarled, wincing. The Necron Ko-Shoka had given his pulse rifle to slowly reached down with one hand, unclipped it from his waist and tossed it to him. Ko-Shoka caught it with a moment of shock, then understanding as the others of his team and the Kroot were all re-armed.

"They are demanding we hand you over to them for safe passage. But that would be cowardice and we are the Lion Hearts, so there is only one answer to that." The leader of the Necrons said. Then the Necrons fired their weapons. The gauss flayers lit the fog with unholy green fire and several of the Flayers were annihilated in that moment.

Most were not and they leapt at their sane cousins, claws ready to tear them to pieces. Ko-Shoka took aim and fired, aware that many of the Flayers were completely irrational and just trying to get to HIM and his team. One of the Necrons – Lion Heart's? – went down with the claws of a Flayer in his chest and the Kroot shot his murderer before taking his place in the formation. Several gauss flayers were dropped, as combat became too close, and the Necrons switched to power blades and odd little shielding bucklers on their arms?

(A power sword and a buckler were the traditional armaments of the Lion Hearts in close combat)

(They were part of the greater Lion regiment and had always been disproportionately of Noble blood)

Ko-Shoka could not keep track of what was happening. All he could do was fire his weapon, over and over, at the snarling monsters in the mist. The tortured screams of metal, the flashing of gauss flayers and pulse rifles, all merged together into what felt like a haze of survival, the simply battle of life and death.

Then it was over. Ko-Shoka realized there were no more targets, and he was still miraculously alive as he cautiously lowered his weapon and looked around. To his great grief, only himself and one other of his team were still alive. The Kroot was still alive as well, although he was battered and bleeding from multiple cuts. As for the Necrons, numerically speaking, they had suffered even worse… there were only three of them left, and one of them had lost an arm and was having difficulty walking. Looking down, Ko-Shoka saw that he'd suffered damage to his hip and his leg was partly frozen. Knowing the potency of the living metal, that was rebuilding, but it would take some time. Until it did, that Necron would not be truly viable for combat.

"Are we still your prisoners?" Ko-Shoka asked. They were fully armed and their numbers were equal to the remaining Necrons. The Necron leader was no longer there, he was gone, and there seemed to be a moment of confusion before one of them took charge.

(Ko-Shoka couldn't recognize him, but it was the field engineer from earlier)

"How about this? We will work together to reach safety. If that safety happens to be our friends, you are our prisoners. If that safety happens to be YOUR forces, then WE are prisoners." The Necron tilted his head to one side. "You do take prisoners and will ransom us back in peace talks? Not dissect us?" Unfortunately, knowing the habits of many other races, Ko-Shoka knew that was a serious question.

"We'll have to convince the Earth Caste, but I believe that can be arranged." Ko-Shoka said with mock seriousness, feeling somehow that this one would understand he was joking. Then the Kroot snorted.

"We should move. There are more out there." Oh excrement. That got all of them moving and they covered each other, trying to slip past before more of the monsters could find them. Ko-Shoka spared a brief moment of concern for the greater battlefield.

These things wanted flesh, and they would take it wherever they could find it.